It was misjudged as a fake three times, but in the end it became a priceless national treasure. This is not a made-up plot, but a legend that really happened in Shaanxi. An antiquity that was idle in the land, which was originally sold as scrap metal, unveiled the mystery of thousands of years, and its value has increased countless times, becoming a national treasure.
Back in the winter of 1975, in an inconspicuous rural village in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Yang Dongfeng, a teenager still in middle school, helped out with farm work at home. Spring ploughing and autumn harvest, the adults in the family are always busy, and Yang Dongfeng is responsible for the relatively easy work of turning the soil. On this very day, his hoe hit a hard object. Thinking it was just stone or scrap metal, Yang Dongfeng bent down to clean up the dirt, but accidentally dug up a strangely shaped iron product.
The appearance of this thing was unremarkable, even a little rusty, and at first glance it looked like the shape of some kind of animal, but he couldn't tell whether it was a horse or a dog. Yang Dongfeng didn't take this thing to heart, after all, there were often old objects unearthed in the village, and he thought it was just some scrapped iron rags. At that time, he could never have imagined that this inconspicuous piece of iron would be able to cause a sensation in the academic community in the future.
Yang Dongfeng took this item home, originally planning to find a scrap recycling station and sell it for a few dollars. At this time, his sister saw the iron block, and out of the child's curiosity, she thought it was quite interesting, like a strange little toy. Yang Dongfeng saw that his sister liked it, so he left this piece of iron and let his sister take it to play. Unexpectedly, this stay is three years.
In the past three years, my sister often played with this piece of iron, and the friction in her hands slowly wore off the patina on its surface, revealing the unusual texture and color inside. Yang Dongfeng accidentally caught a glimpse of this "toy" one day and suddenly realized that it might not just be an ordinary piece of iron. He decided to take it with him to an expert to see what it was.
Yang Dongfeng took this piece of iron dug out of the soil to the Shaanxi History Museum. Experts have examined and studied this seemingly inconspicuous piece of iron in detail. When the preliminary appraisal results came out, everyone was stunned - this turned out to be a precious "tiger talisman" from the Warring States period! However, due to the severe wear and tear of its appearance and the lack of corresponding documentation, the opinions of experts are not unanimous, and some even believe that it is just an ordinary bronze artifact, or a fake from later generations.
In ancient China, the "Tiger Talisman" was used as a voucher for the movement of troops, and each Tiger Talisman was made in pairs and divided into two halves, one half of which was kept by the emperor and the other half was given to the generals. Only when the two halves of the tiger meet one, can the authenticity of the troop transfer order be proved. Each piece of tiger talisman has extremely high historical and artistic value. Since half of this tiger talisman has long been lost, it is difficult for experts to determine its authenticity based on this half in their hands.
This "tiger talisman", which is regarded as a possible national treasure and a possible fake, has undergone many appraisals and controversies. In each case, the experts were unable to give a positive answer because of the lack of sufficient evidence. During this time, it was even used as a children's toy, being placed and used casually.
It wasn't until 1980 that by chance, an expert who studied ancient weapons noticed the particularity of this "tiger talisman" during his investigation. By comparing the styles of ancient documents with other known tiger talismans, as well as an in-depth analysis of the remaining characters on this fragment of tiger talismans, he finally confirmed that this was indeed a real tiger talisman from the Warring States period. The discovery immediately caused a sensation in academic circles.
After being corroborated by accurate scientific and historical documents, this tiger talisman was officially recognized as a national treasure and was collected by the Shaanxi History Museum with a lot of money. It not only verifies its true identity, but also reveals the military and political aspects of the Warring States period, providing valuable material evidence for the study of the history of that period.
The story of the twists and turns of this tiger talisman not only shows the value of the cultural relics themselves, but also reflects our attitude and approach to cultural relics. From being misjudged as a fake to becoming a priceless national treasure, every misunderstanding and correction has profoundly taught us to treat historical heritage with sufficient reverence and meticulous research. And this tiger talisman has also become a bridge connecting the past and the future from a misunderstood existence.
The story of this tiger talisman, which was misjudged as a fake three times, has finally proved its true worth and become a national treasure, and its story tells us that every artifact may hide a secret that no one else knows.